José Fernández

This review is a flip-side perspective to the gentleman who made the initial review of this book and it's true that if you're looking for an intensive technical analysis of these machines you'll probably be disappointed. Whether it could still be achieved considering the documentary loses of the war years is another question. Still, if you want photos, order of battle details and operational history there is nothing to be disappointed with in this book. That said I would still like to have seen an essay dealing with French operational doctrine for these machines; this is apart from references to how a misguided commitment to multi-purpose aircraft that did little well tended to warp French development. A little more analysis of how these machines were marked would have been appreciated too; the caveat about surviving documentary evidence admittedly applies here too.… (plus d'informations)

First a preface, this review is based upon my own reading preferences and not meant to be a negative review of the book itself. It might be perfectly adequate for others. The copy writing states "This book describes and illustrates...". No, there is a brief technical and development description of a few paragraphs and then it's done. Very disappointing for someone who has a technical interest in the aircraft. (Hence this two star review.)
If you're a modeler looking for interior details, this book will also disappoint as there are none. Prewar development and WWII itself get a scant nine pages of text with a significant amount being taken up with photographs and unit order of battle charts.

Where does this book shine? The operational histories are excellent along with the color profiles. The quality of the photographic reproduction is also very good. It was also a pleasant surprise to find chapters on the Douglas A-20, the Martin 167 and the Vought V-156. Additionally the last few pages were devoted to a few might-have beens, bomber and attack aircraft that were under development at the time of the Armistice. As a result there might be more than has been previously published in English on the following aircraft: Latécoère 570, Bloch MB.134, Bloch MB. 135, Bloch MB. 162 B5, just to name a few.… (plus d'informations)